Tin Soldiers
by VoicesOffCamera
Summary: After three years, the war was now bloodier than it had ever been and it was beginning to take a toll on their spirits. It felt like an uphill battle in which they never gained any ground. These days the obituaries were filled with familiar names. Could they really win a war if along the way they lost everything they held most dear? [One Shot]
**Tin Soldiers**

"Have you heard anything?"

Remus looked up as he carefully closed the front door behind him. James was in front of him in the blink of an eye, already searching his features anxiously.

Remus shook his head slowly. "No," he said, his voice hoarse with worry. "There's been no word."

James' shoulders slumped as he ran a hand over his face. "Damnit," he hissed lowly.

There was a long minute of silence as the two just stood there.

"How are you holding up?" Remus finally asked, mostly just to break the painful silence.

James sighed heavily. "Okay," he muttered, though his tone was unconvincing. "Lily's been a wreck all day though. But she's blaming the hormones." After a moment, he seemed to come back to his senses and realized they were still standing awkwardly in the entrance hall. "Come on in."

James led the way to the sitting room that was just off of the entrance hall. There was a fire crackling merrily in the fireplace. Remus immediately spotted Lily sitting sideways on the couch by the window, her feet curled up underneath her as he eyes were fixed on the window behind the couch and the landscape beyond. As they entered, she turned and perked up slightly. She focused on Remus, her expression hopeful. But, before she could even pose the question, Remus sadly shook his head. The small light in her eyes dulled as she frowned and absent mindedly ran her hand over the bulge of her very pregnant belly.

"Where could he be?" Lily whispered, her voice wavering.

"He'll turn up," Remus tried to assure her, though he was painfully aware of the doubt in his voice.

"Yeah," Lily said flatly. She blinked as her eyes watered "Just like Marlene…"

It was like all the air was sucked out of the room. Several weeks ago, their friend Marlene McKinnon had gone missing after a group of Death Eaters had murdered her entire family. They had spent a week searching desperately for her, only to have her body turn up in the Thames. Marlene had been one of Lily's closest friends and it had been devastating for all of them to lose someone from their immediate circle of friends.

They had been fighting this war ever since they had graduated from Hogwarts and for the first few years they had thrived on the adrenalin of it all, feeling righteous in their fight. And though there were several serious injuries in the beginning, they had felt invincible for a long time. But after three years, the war was now bloodier than it had ever been and it was beginning to take a toll on their spirits. It felt like an uphill battle in which they never gained any ground. These days the obituaries were filled with familiar names which made it hard to believe that they were making any difference. Could they really win a war if along the way they lost everything they held most dear?

And just when they thought things couldn't get any worse… Sirius Black went missing.

Dumbledore had sent Sirius on a mission several days ago. Then, late the previous night, Dumbledore had shown up in James and Lily's sitting room, asking if they had heard from Sirius. He had admitted that he had expected Sirius back the day before, but he had yet to show up and they had been unable to contact him. Frustratingly enough, he wouldn't divulge the details of Sirius' mission. So, the friends were left to worry and wait. Now, they were approaching the forty-eight hour mark of Sirius being missing in action, and they all knew that after forty-eight hours of no news they generally stopped looking for a person and started looking for a body.

In a fit of fury that was usually expected out of the missing Marauder rather than James, he kicked out at an end table, sending it toppling over with a loud crash, the lamp that had been sitting on top of it shattering across the floor. "I should have been with him," he spat, anger coming off of him in waves.

"I'm sure if you could have, Dumbledore would have sent you with him," Remus reasoned. "He doesn't split the two of you up very often." It was true. Together, James and Sirius were a force to be reckoned with, one that Dumbledore had only split up on a handful of occasions over the past three years.

"Why does he get to decide?" James demanded as he began to pace. "Why can't we ever have a say?"

"I'm sure Sirius agreed to whatever mission Dumbledore went to him with," Remus pointed out.

"Well, he shouldn't have," James snapped.

"James, please sit down," Lily implored as her bright green eyes followed his movements anxiously. "You're making me nervous with your pacing."

If anyone else had tried get him to sit still in his current state, he probably would have bitten their head off. But as he looked at his pregnant wife, all his anger seemed to melt away, leaving helplessness and despair in its wake. He shuffled over to the couch and fell heavily beside Lily, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her gently into him as he planted a kiss on the top of her head.

Remus moved to sit in an armchair on the opposite wall, his muscles aching from standing so long. It had only been four days since the last full moon, and his friends hadn't been able to accompany him in several months. The last time Sirius, James and Peter had tried to transform into their Animagus forms to accompany him on the full moon, Sirius and James had just come back from an exhausting mission and neither had been able to complete their transformation, their magical energy having been spent. After that, Remus insisted that he was fine to transform on his own, assuring them that as soon as things calmed down they could resume if they wanted to. Even so, Remus did miss the comfort they used to bring.

Remus shook himself out of his thoughts as he carefully sat down. He focused on Lily, who had both her hands resting on her enlarged belly in almost a protective way.

"Still no baby?" he said, trying desperately to change the subject. The newest Potter was almost a week overdue at this point.

Lily shook her head absent-mindedly. "If she knows what's good for her, she won't show up until your thickheaded friend is back home." She strained to give him a small smile.

James laughed lightly as he gave her a small squeeze. "Now it's a girl?" Lily had been going back and forth for weeks over the sex of the baby; each time convinced that she was right.

Lily smiled up at James, though there was still sadness in her eyes. "Yes," she said with conviction. "I had a dream about the cutest little redheaded girl the other night with hazel eyes."

"If our child doesn't have your eyes, I'll be sorely disappointed," James said.

For a moment, the rest of the world seemed to melt away and they were able to forget about everything outside of that room. But as they all do, the moment passed.

There was a loud crack from outside, the unmistakable sound of someone Apparating in front of the house. Remus was the first on his feet, rushing to the front door and only vaguely aware of James right on his heels. It took no time at all to reach the door and throw it open revealing… a very startled Peter Pettigrew, his fist raised awkwardly in the air.

Remus let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Oh. Peter." Try as he might, he couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice.

Peter's eyes darted between him and James, who was standing just behind Remus, looking nervous and a little confused. "I-I was just about to knock…" he stammered.

"Sorry," Remus said as he stepped aside and motioned for Peter to come in. "We heard the Apparation and thought you might be Sirius."

"Oh," Peter said as he walked in, the pitch of his voice dipping in disappointment and another emotion that Remus couldn't quite identify. "You haven't heard from him yet?"

Remus shook his head. "Not yet."

As he turned, he realized that Lily had followed them and was leaning in the doorway of the sitting room, looking on the verge of tears to find that it wasn't who they had been hoping it would be. She straightened up and blinked. "Come on, Peter," she invited gently, her voice only wavering slightly. "You can wait with us."

"Why aren't you out looking for him?" Peter asked quizzically as he followed Lily back into the sitting room.

"I spent the better part of the night last night out searching," James said tiredly. "There was no trace of him. In fact, there has been no Death Eater activity at all since he missed his check in." He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head as worry that boarded panic worked its way into his features. "Something's not right. Maybe I should go back out and look again."

"Dumbledore said he'd let us know if anything changed," Remus pointed out. "He has both Moody and Shacklebolt out leading search teams. Both of them have reported little to no activity out there. You going out there and poking around bushes isn't going to make a difference at this point, you know that."

James sighed heavily as he and Lily settled themselves back on the couch. "I know," he said flatly. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Do you think the Death Eaters got him?" Peter squeaked as he settled himself in the armchair Remus had just vacated. Remus made his way over to another armchair on the far side of the room.

"I can't imagine any other reason he would fail to turn up for so long," James said dismally.

It seemed that was as much as Lily could take. She sniffed as a tear streaked down her face. "We… we can't lose him too…" she whimpered.

"Oh, Lily," James whispered as he wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her in close. She curled into him as her composure crumbled.

It was a painful scene to witness. Seeing Lily – who was always so strong and composed – break down like this really brought home how very hopeless this situation was. Even if it was the pregnancy hormones that were affecting her, that didn't change the reality of the situation. It was a very real possibility that they may never see Sirius again. That fact rang out clearly in the mostly silent room. Remus leaned over and dropped his head into his hands, feeling despair wash over him.

Why was this happening to them? Weren't they on the right side, fighting for good rather than evil? In the books he loved to read when he was younger good always triumphed over evil. So why were they losing so much?

* * *

All the Marauders who were not currently missing in action – along with Lily – stayed in the Potters' sitting room that night, keeping up a silent vigil as they hoped and prayed their friend would return to them. No one spoke. There were no words left to say. All they could do was wait.

As the sun rose, James finally couldn't sit still any longer. He Apparated to the Order of the Phoenix headquarters in order to confront Dumbledore, demanding to know if there were any leads at all on their missing friend. He returned not twenty minutes later looking worn. He relayed that Dumbledore had no updates on the search other than all the places they knew Sirius wasn't and that they were running out of places to look. The situation was bleak and Dumbledore did not seem hopeful for a good outcome.

The four spent the day inside. They moved around mechanically, trying and failing to keep occupied. Food was distributed three times that day, but more time and energy was put into preparing the food rather than actually consuming it. Throughout the afternoon they would all drift off periodically in chairs or on couches, the lack of sleep the last two nights taking its toll on them. Every one of them seemed to be in a daze. Looking around, Remus didn't see soldiers and at this point he wondered if they could ever really be what they were before. Perhaps this would be their breaking point.

As the group picked their way through supper, spread out in the sitting room with plates balanced in their laps, Remus did the math again. Sirius had now been missing for almost seventy-two hours. It had been three of the longest days of any of their lives.

Just to be doing something, Remus stood and started collecting plates when it became clear that no one was going to eat any more. Even Peter hadn't managed to clear his plate.

"I'm going back out to look for him," James suddenly declared.

"James…" Lily started.

"No," James cut her off, hurt and pain in his eyes. "I can't just sit here any longer. We can't just abandon him. His family abandoned him; remember what a toll that took on him? If we're not out there looking for him, how are we any better?"

"There are people out looking for him," Remus reminded him. "Dumbledore wants us to stay put."

"To hell with Dumbledore," James spat. "All this is his fault to begin with. Sirius of all people should not have been out there without anyone to watch his back."

Too tired and emotionally drained to argue, Remus simply turned from the room and headed for the kitchen with the stack of dirty plates. As he left, he could hear Lily trying to calm James, but they all knew that it was useless. James had never been one for sitting around and letting others handle things. It was a wonder that he had lasted this long before he couldn't take it anymore.

Just as Remus was setting the dishes on the counter, there was a loud crack from outside. He froze, but only for a moment. Suddenly, he was running full force toward the front door, getting there just as the group from the sitting room had. James threw open the door, scanning the scene beyond. For a moment the area seemed just as deserted as ever. That didn't seem right though. Remus was sure the noise had been of someone Apparating. Or perhaps it had been someone Disapparating?

"James," Remus gasped as he noticed movement on the street off to one side. He indicated the area to James who was squinting through the dimming evening light.

"Peter, stay here with Lily," James ordered. "Remus, come with me."

James and Remus both drew their wands and held them at the ready before stepping out into the open air. James was carefully sweeping the areas in front of him while Remus checked their flanks for threats. It was a practiced activity they had learned to do early on in the war. One never ran in to a situation without taking a close look at your surroundings. That lesson had been learned the hard way.

"Over there," Remus said in a low voice, indicating where he had initially seen movement.

James threw open the gate as they made their way out of the garden. It only took them a moment to spot the figure crumpled on the side of the road. Even though the figure was unmoving, they approached slowly and carefully, suspicion built into their very cores after all these years at war with an enemy that rarely met them head on. The figure was little more than a heap of black robes and for a moment Remus wondered if it was nothing more. But then there was a sudden shutter that ran through the mass and Remus could see just how much it resembled a person curled in protectively on himself.

Remus and James shared a look, silently communicating their strategy. As Remus moved closer, James steadily trained his wand on the figure, his grip so tight that his knuckles were turning white. Remus reached down, grabbing a handful of robes and pulling it. The figure fell to the side. Just a second later Remus fell to his knees, instantly recognizing the person who lay in the street outside of the Potters' house. It was Sirius. And he was covered in blood.

For a minute, Remus was frozen in place, only able to stare at the gruesome scene. Sirius' eyes were closed and there was blood covering the right side of his neck and splashed up onto his face. His cloak was pulled tightly around himself, and there were dark stains in the fabric, but without better lighting it was impossible to tell where any other injuries were.

"Sirius," Remus mumbled, hardly able to believe his eyes. He reached out and gently shifted Sirius' head, trying to get a better look at the wound on left side of the base of his neck. But at his touch, Sirius' eyes flew open as he gasped raggedly for breath, swinging out his other hand as if to protect himself from an attacker. Remus was so startled he almost toppled over backwards. Then, in the next moment, Sirius fell limp and his eyes slid shut as he appeared to lose consciousness.

"We need to get him inside," James said tersely, his eyes wandering from their fallen friend to their surroundings. It was clear that he was having a hard time holding himself back from falling to his friend's side and checking his injuries, but they couldn't do that out here in the open. "Can you levitate him?"

Remus shook his head. "It's not a good idea to use magic on him until we figure out exactly what's wrong." He glanced back at the house. The door was open and Peter and Lily could be seen watching them. "It's not far, but you'll have to help me carry him. Come on."

James nodded curtly. With one last paranoid glance around at their surroundings, he tucked his wand into his belt and stooped to sling one of Sirius' arms over his shoulder. Remus did the same on his other side. As they lifted him between them, a groaned dragged its way out of the back of Sirius' throat and his muscles tensed. There was no time to pause though as they moved in unison, heading back to the garden. Before Remus could even consider how they were going to get the gate open, Lily was already there, opening it for them.

"You were supposed to stay inside," James murmured to her as they awkwardly passed back into the garden. Lily ignored the comment and followed them back to the house.

The three hobbled awkwardly into the sitting room and over to the couch. As carefully as they could, they lowered Sirius down to the couch, but the action caused their friend to moan and gasp in pain. In the light, they could now see exactly how horrific he looked. He was pale as a ghost and his eyes were squeezed shut against the pain as he took in ragged breaths.

"Sirius?" Remus prodded gently, kneeling down next to the couch and studying Sirius' pained expression. "Can you hear me?"

But though his muscles clenched painfully, a sign that he had come back to some form of consciousness as they had dragged him inside, Sirius made no indication that he could hear him.

"Let's get these robes off of him," James said grimly, kneeling down next to him. "See what we're dealing with here."

As they slowly peeled his outer robes off of him it immediately became obvious that the shirt he was wearing was shredded. And beneath that, so was Sirius. There was so much blood that it was impossible to tell where one injury stopped and another one began.

"He's lost a lot of blood," Remus said quietly as he catalogued the injuries, looking for the worst of the lacerations that covered his body. They had to slow the bleeding or Sirius could be dead in a matter of minutes. He focused on the wound the stretched along the top of his left collarbone and wound around to his shoulder, still bleeding profusely as it was clearly very fresh. "I think he got splinched when he Apparated."

With a wave of his wand, he produced a handful of bandages and started piling them on the wound, hoping to stem the bleeding while he assessed the rest of Sirius' injuries.

"Remus," James said tensely, drawing Remus' attention to a particularly deep gash in Sirius' outer thigh, blood pooling on the couch just underneath the wound.

In one swift motion, Remus had yanked his belt off of his waist and was pushing James out of the way. He wrapped the belt around Sirius' injured leg just above the laceration and then pulled it tight to create a tourniquet. It was a Muggle first aid trick he had learned from his mother when she had helped his father patch him up after transformations when he was young. The action had come quicker and more naturally to him than an incantation would have, his hands working faster than he mind at the moment.

"Hold this," Remus said and James quickly complied, taking the end of the belt and holding it tight so that Remus could grab his wand and start murmuring healing incantations over their broken friend.

"James," came Lily's voice. Remus barely registered it, but James must not have registered it at all, because he didn't move. When she spoke again, it was louder and more insistent. "James." This time, James turned to look at her, still keeping his hands steady and in place. At a glance, Remus could see James' eyes widen at what he saw. "My water broke."

At this, Remus turned as well. Lily was standing a few steps behind them, looking uncomfortable and unsure. For a moment everyone froze, trying to process what was happening. Remus looked to James, who was usually the one to take charge, but the soon to be father was looking at his wife like one might look at an oncoming tidal wave.

"James, help Lily upstairs," Remus prompted. He glanced over at where Peter was keeping his distance. "Peter, Apparate over to Mary's and tell her that Lily's gone into labor. Then Apparate over to my flat and gather up as much of my medical supplies as you can and bring them back here."

"Okay," Peter squeaked, looking relieved to have an excuse to leave the gruesome scene. He disappeared from the room, needing to leave the house in order to Apparate due to the protective spells that James and Lily had in place.

James didn't move nearly as quickly.

"But…" James started, his eyes wandering back toward Sirius, clearly torn between his best friend and his wife.

"I'll handle this," Remus assured him gently. "See to your wife."

After hesitating for another moment, James nodded and stood up, quickly moving to Lily's side and guiding her out of the room.

Once he was alone in the room, Remus turned his attention back to Sirius. He had slowed the bleeding from his leg, which seemed to be the most concerning wound at the moment, to the point where he no longer needed the tourniquet. But there was still a lot work to be done on his other injuries.

"Okay, listen to me Padfoot," Remus said softly. "Upstairs, Lily is getting ready to have James' first child. You are not allowed to die on the same day that that child is born. Do you hear me? James and Lily will never forgive you if you don't stick around to hold that child. Okay?" There was no response. Remus sighed heavily.

Remus began murmuring healing spells and counter curses over Sirius, willing his body to be whole again. Mary MacDonald appeared not ten minutes after Peter left, only sparing Remus a glance before hurrying up the stairs to aid Lily with her delivery. They could not trust most people at St. Mungo's these days, so Mary and Remus were supposed to help deliver Lily's child. Remus could only hope that Mary would be able to handle it on her own. She was a close friend of Lily's who worked at St. Mungo's, training to be a Healer, but she had never delivered a baby before. As long as there were no complications, she shouldn't require Remus' aid though.

It was a very long night.

Peter returned soon after Mary's disappearance with an assortment of potions from Remus' flat. He aided Remus a bit reluctantly, looking a bit green as he handed off potions and put pressure on bandages as instructed by Remus. Remus barely took notice though, all of his attention on doing everything he could to save Sirius.

It was just after midnight when Remus sank back on his heels next to the couch, feeling so utterly exhausted that he felt like he might pass out.

"I've done all I can for him," he murmured to no one in particular.

Peter came up behind him, bracing him with one hand on his shoulder, seeming to sense how much had been drained from Remus in his efforts over the past couple hours. "Will he…?" he let the question hang.

Remus looked down at Sirius, eyeing the bandages that covered the worst of Sirius' wounds. "Time will tell," he said quietly.

"He's strong." Remus was startled as another figure came into view, crouching down next to him. He hadn't even heard James approach. "He'll pull through."

Remus looked over at James' worn expression. "How's Lily?"

"She's good," James said with the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. He looked over at Remus and despite the situation he could see pride in his friend's eyes. "It's a boy."

"Congratulations, mate," Remus said, straining to sound as sincere as he felt.

Just then, there was a slight stirring from the injured figure on the couch. Both Remus and James snapped their gazes to their friend, desperately searching for signs of life.

"Sirius?" James said carefully, cautious hope in his tone. A low groan floated from the back of Sirius' throat. Encouraged, James reached forward and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "C'mon. Time to wake up, Padfoot."

Sirius mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "five more minutes."

James laughed loudly, though it sounded mostly like simply an outlet of nervous energy than actual humor. It took a little more coaxing, but Sirius finally opened his eyes, blinking around blearily.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, mate," James said with a smile.

"Did I go somewhere?" Sirius mumbled, a light smile playing at his lips as the fog began to clear from his eyes.

"Very nearly," Remus said so quietly he wasn't sure anybody heard him. Sirius began shifting, trying to push himself up into a sitting position. "Don't move," Remus implored quickly. "Let me check you over first."

He began checking under bandages, seeing how Sirius' wounds were healing. As he unwrapped the bandage that was around Sirius' thigh, Sirius let out a sharp hiss of pain as he tensed.

"Careful!" Sirius gasped as he grimaced. "Merlin, Moony. You make me yearn for the virtues of my great-aunt."

"Isn't she dead?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sirius gave him a sarcastic smirk. "Precisely," he croaked

Remus glared at him. "Don't joke," he scolded, an edge of sincere anger in his voice. "Another couple of minutes and you very well could have been dead."

Sirius sobered immediately. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Remus immediately felt guilty. He knew very well that Sirius used humor as a defense mechanism against any pain he might be feeling. He had been aware of that for years and it was unfair of him to take that away from him. He sighed as he sat back on his heels and rubbed his eyes tiredly as a heavy silence filled the room.

He opened his eyes as he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking over into James' sympathetic expression.

"It's been a long night for all of us," James reminded him gently. Then he smiled. "That reminds me. I'll be right back."

As James disappeared from the room, Remus returned to checking Sirius' injuries, being mindful to go slower this time.

"Your wounds are healing, but it'll take time before you will be whole again, my friend," Remus finally reported. His eyes wandered to the bandage on Sirius' thigh. "You won't be walking for a while, but with rest I think you'll be back to normal in a few weeks."

"Thank you, Moony," Sirius said, no trace of humor or sarcasm in his tone.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," Remus said. "It's just… I really thought we had lost you."

Sirius nodded slightly as his eyes grew stormy. "I thought you had too." His voice came out as barely more than a whisper.

There was a ringing silence following this revelation.

The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Remus turned in time to see James walking back into the room, a bundle of blankets cradled in his arms. Even before Remus realized what he was holding, he noticed that James was moving much more carefully and deliberately than Remus had ever seen him move before, a gentleness about him that surpassed anything that Remus had ever seen from his friend before.

"Prongs…" Sirius said quietly, following James with his eyes, seeming to read every move his best friend made like a book.

James eyes went from Peter to Remus and then rested on Sirius. "I want you lot to meet Harry. Harry Potter. My son." He shifted the blankets in his arms so that glimpse of pink flesh could be seen.

For a minute, three pairs of eyes simply looked at James in awe. Then Sirius began to shift around again.

"Help me up," he said determinedly.

Remus complied, helping Sirius slowly sit up while Peter quickly brought over pillows from the chairs to help prop him up, much like they had done countless times for Remus over the years.

"Give him here," Sirius said, once he was settled. "I get to be first."

James laughed at this, but complied. He came forward and kneeled down next to the couch, Remus standing up and moving out the way to make room. James carefully shifted the bundle into Sirius' arms. Sirius winced as he shifted to settle the infant onto a non-injured section of his torso. He seemed to tense as he took the small child in his arms, unused to the sensation of having such a small and delicate life in his care.

"He's so small," Sirius said, gazing down at his best friend's child. From his angle, Remus could now get a better look at the child, seeing that he was fast asleep.

"Well, that's how they come, Padfoot," James laughed. He paused and then continued. "I've talked to Lily. We want you to be Harry's godfather."

Sirius' eyes snapped to him, wide with surprise. "Me?" he said quickly. "Wouldn't Mr. Responsibility over there make more sense?" He flicked his gaze to where Remus stood. Remus just smiled and shook his head.

"This kid literally refused to be born until you turned up," James pointed out lightly. "I think it's clear he wants you to be the godfather." There was a pause. "So, what do you say?"

"Of course," Sirius said quickly. "Of course I'll be Harry's godfather. I'd be honored."

"Good," James said with a smile. But the smile quickly disappeared as James grew serious. "Now, you know that means you're going to have to be more careful. Harry will need you in his life. You can't be reckless with your life."

"I was not reckless," Sirius tried to argue.

"You went on a mission alone," James pointed out.

"Dumbledore said—"

"I don't care what Dumbledore said," James cut him off firmly. "You are not to go on any mission without me to back you up. Dumbledore can't just order us around while not giving us any say. We are more than just tin soldiers for him to shuffle around as he sees fit. We have to have some control over our own lives."

Sirius nodded solemnly. "You're right. I won't go off on my own anymore. I promise."

James narrowed his eyes at his friend suspiciously. "I've heard that one before," he said.

"Well, here's one you've never heard before," Sirius countered. He looked down at the bundle in his arms. "I swear on the life of your son. I will be more careful."

James nodded, looking relieved. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Someone has to teach him to ride a motorcycle when he gets old enough."

James gave Sirius a playful shove. "I'm _not_ glad to hear _that_."

"C'mon, Prongs," Sirius said, coughing a laugh. "You sire one child and suddenly you're no fun anymore."

Despite the somber atmosphere that had consumed them for them past couple days – and even more so that very evening – the four boys dissolved into a fit of giggles, joking and poking fun at one another. It was a very rare light moment in a time where they were almost always consumed with darkness.

They all took turns holding Harry. Even when he woke up and started crying, none of them could stop smiling. It seemed that their waning spirits had been born anew with the arrival of this little bundle. They were all in awe of this little miracle that had come into their lives at such a dark time.

They had come so close to losing so much that night, only to emerge not only with everyone still intact, but with another member of their family that they needed to protect. Despite doubt of ever being able to fight again after Sirius went missing, they would go back to war within the week. They embraced their roles as tin soldiers, knowing that they played a smaller part in a larger plan. They had no idea what this war would ultimately take from them. They had no idea the loyalties that would be questioned and tested as the war raged on. Or the betrayal they would face in just over a year.

All they knew was that they wanted more for their children, for the next generation of witches and wizards. And they would fight and sacrifice everything they had in hopes of giving those that would come after them a better life.

 **The End**

* * *

 **Diagon Alley II Forum Challenges Point Count**

 **The Fairy Tales Challenge Prompts:**

 _ **Fairy Tale (10pts) -**_ The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Hans Christian Anderson)

 _ **Dialogue (5pts each)**_ _-_ "You make me yearn for the virtues of my great-aunt." / "Isn't she dead?" / "Precisely."

"I promise." / "I've heard that one before."

 _ **Words (5pts each)**_ – Fury; Midnight

 **Total Points: 30**

* * *

 **Challenge Your Versatility! Event** **–** Genre: Hurt/Comfort


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